Nathan

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled 나단 in KR South Korea.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 18 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Nathan is also recorded as 5 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• French given name749K records spelled Nathan8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, United States, Belgium, United Kingdom

  Languages: French, Romanian

  Also written Nàthan, Nàthàn, Nathàn, Nathân, Nath'An

• a separate given name75K records spelled Nathan2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, India, United Kingdom, Canada

  Also written Nāthan

• Polish given name22K records spelled Nathan5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Poland, United States, Czechia, United Kingdom

  Languages: Polish, Czech, Slovak

  Also written Náthán, Ñátháñ

• Indonesian given name16K records spelled Nathan8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, United States, Malaysia, United Kingdom

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written 'Nathan, Ñäťhân

• Polish given name7.6K records spelled Nathan53 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Poland, Russia, United States, Ukraine

  Languages: Polish, Russian, Ukrainian

  Also written Natan, Натан, Нейтан, Natán, Натхан

87 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Nathan is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• As a figure mentioned only in a genealogy, Nathan does not have a specific religious meaning attributed to him. His presence in the biblical text underscores the importance of lineage and the preservation of tribal history in ancient Israel, reflecting God's faithfulness in maintaining the line of Judah.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• A classic biblical name of Hebrew origin, Nathan means 'gift' or 'He has given'. While the most famous biblical Nathan was a prophet who advised King David, the name also appears for other individuals, such as this Nathan who is listed in the genealogy of the tribe of Judah.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• The name Nathan is of Hebrew origin and means "he gave" or "gift of God." In the Bible, Nathan was a courageous and wise prophet who advised King David. The name is associated with faithfulness, guidance, and the courage to speak the truth.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• The Hebrew name Nathan (נָתָן) means "he has given" or simply "gift". It is often considered a shortened form of names like Nethaniah ("Gift of Yahweh") or Jonathan ("Yahweh has given").

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• The name Nathan means 'He has given' or 'Gift' in Hebrew. While popular primarily due to the biblical prophet, this specific Nathan represents loyalty and military service.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Nathan Söderblomb. 1866SESwedish clergyman and archbishop (1866–1931)
• Roscoe Poundb. 1870USnot in their usual nameAmerican legal scholar and educator (1870–1964)
• Nathan Georgeb. 1936USAmerican actor (1936–2017)
• Nathan Laneb. 1956USAmerican actor
• Nathan Jonesb. 1969AUAustralian professional wrestler and actor
• Nathan Fillionb. 1971CACanadian-American actor (born 1971)
• Nathan Barrb. 1973USAmerican musician
• Nathan Grenob. 1975USAmerican film director and animator
• Nathan Kressb. 1992USAmerican actor (born 1992)
• Nathan Sykesb. 1993GBEnglish singer

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,738 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Nathan?

We estimate roughly 706 thousand people bear Nathan (counting its spellings and scripts) across 10 countries in our records.

In which country does Nathan have the most bearers?

We estimate about 481 thousand people bear Nathan in the United States, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled nathan.

How common is Nathan compared with other names?

In the United States, Nathan is the 209th most common given name of 3,122,706 given names recorded there.

Is Nathan a male or female name?

Nathan is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Nathan mean?

Recorded meaning: from the Hebrew personal name Natan, literally ‘given (by God)’.